I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

I think in around a month from now I will app for another card. I really don't want a large pile of cards but maybe one or two really good ones if I can. I pulled my scores here in November and got 711 TU and 716 EQ. It said the thing that was hurting me the most was at the time a CC utilization of 80%+. I plan to pay it off, get a zero utilization showing on my reports and then try applying.

I tried Nerdwallet but I seem to keep going to Capitol One Venture but I hear to much bad stuff about them so I don't want to bother. I am concerned about Amex and it not being quite as accepted as Visa. I want to travel some, once a year would be a great goal, so I need a card that I can use around the world without problems or fees.

So this is what I am looking for:

Rewards Card

World travel friendly

Prefer Visa but I suppose it doesn't have to be

Good rewards from daily purchases. I would like to make this card my everyday go to card for all purchases, even online.

Annual fee of $100 or less

I want a credit card not charge card.

Is this possible? What do you suggest?

Oh yea, I have a credit card now through my bank and one thing I don't like about it is it take three to four business days to post payments. Do all cards do this or just mine?

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

To be honest with you, based on what you posted, perhaps the Capital One Cash Rewards or Capital One Venture are your best bets.

The Cash Rewards (be sure to apply for version with excellent credit to avoid AF) has no AF, no Foreign transaction Fee, is either Visa or MasterCard (I lost track) and gets 1% on all purchases with a 50% annual bonus.

The Venture Card has an AF, as you probably know, but earns you good travel rewards for flights.

I have found the Capital One cash rewards to be the easiest redemption program among all of my cards, if that helps.

The one thing missing is the Capital One cards do not have EMV chips to My knowledge, which makes international use a little more difficult, but not altogether impossible.

Other options for you would include the Bank of America travel card (maybe someone else can provide info on that) given the rewards specifications. I'm not sure about the underwriting, and I believe EMV can be requested, but I would love another poster who knows more about it to clarify.

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

What kind of rewards are you looking for? Airline miles, hotel points, or cash back? Also, do you fly a lot? Would lounge access be valuable? Do you stick to one airline or do you fly multiples? That makes a big difference as to which card I'd recommend.

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

OP, what cards do you already have?

This is somewhat helpful info. Are any of them rewards cards with bonus categories? Your "everyday, general spending card" often needs context.

My current everyday personal general spending card is the US Bank Cash+ because I effectively get greater than 1.5% on non-bonus purchases when the $25 bonus gift card is factored in along with 25% bonus on base cash back from having "gold checking". And this is without an annual fee. That's the important part. NO AF. That may or may not be an issue with some people.

The reason it can matter is that if you a variety of rewards cards that get optimum rewards for different categories, your general spending may or may not get enough spending to warrant an annual fee based card. And since bonus category spending is often times what people spend the most on (Gas, groceries, restaurants etc...), general spending may or may not be enough to warrant the burden of an annual fee. Then again, a few Amazon Payments transactions now and then can take care of that issue

Now, if you are a frequent traveler, the options become more plentiful. Hotel and Airlines cards can offer better value if your lifestyle suits it. But you need to be someone who was already going to make use of such travel expenses whether you had the card or not. If you stay in hotels a certain number of times per year and generally prefer one chain over another, a hotel card from the Hilton HHonors line or the SPG Amex is worth a look. Both give decent to excellent value on general spending if redeemed properly and if the card is used enough.

PS: I also find a card that comes with a bonus spending "mall" like Chase's Ultimate rewards mall or Cap1's perk central to be a big plus if you do a lot of online shopping. But then again, with sites like Fat Wallet, Ebates and Big Crumbs, it's becoming less important.

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

I will likely only travel once a year either nationally or internationally. The chip in the card sounds like a huge plus to me but I can probably do without. Lounge access and specific airlines aren't needed because I will likely shop around to find the best deal available at the time.

I plan to run 30,000 +\- a year through it. I plan to use it for everything except pay on loans and such.

Im on my phone at work so I will get some info this evening to clear things up.

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

Amex Blue Sky Preferred! Or BCE... Please avoid C1! PLEASE! Ignore the C1 recommenders... It took me almost five years to get a cli from them.. PLEASE save YOURSELF the hassle. Hell... Get the FreedomAnd BCE! :-)

Re: I am not sure which card to get. Help please.

youngandcreditwrthy wrote:Amex Blue Sky Preferred! Or BCE... Please avoid C1! PLEASE! Ignore the C1 recommenders... It took me almost five years to get a cli from them.. PLEASE save YOURSELF the hassle. Hell... Get the FreedomAnd BCE! :-)

Let me clarify - in no way did I recommend Capital One's products. I simply stated the card profiles for the Cash Rewards and the Venture loosely fit the OP's requirements. I also mentioned that the BoA travel Rewards card would as well. And now that is has been pointed out, so will the Sapphire Preferred. But remember, the OP's credit history MAY NOT allow the OP to qualify for any or all of these cards. I was simply answering the question based on card profiles, and nowhere were CLs or CLIs mentioned.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, along with additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation.
Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies.
Many factors affect your FICO Scores and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating.
FTC's website on credit.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, along with additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Score and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.